Effects of contact with wood on blood pressure and subjective evaluation

Abstract

This study examined the effects of contact with wood on the living human body using a physiological index and subjective evaluation. Consecutive blood pressure measurements were used as the physiological index, and sensory evaluation using the semantic differential (SD) method was used for subjective evaluation. Consideration was also given to cases in which materials were cooled and heated as well as kept at room temperature, to eliminate the effects of heat flux due to differences in thermal conductivity between wood and other materials. It was found that contact with wood produced coarse/natural sensations, with no associated increase in systolic blood pressure. Contact with cold wood created subjectively dangerous/uncomfortable but still coarse/natural sensations, also with no associated increase in blood pressure; therefore, there was no correspondence between subjective evaluation and physiological responses. Contact with aluminum kept at room temperature and cold acrylic plastic created flat/artificial and dangerous/uncomfortable sensations, with an associated significant increase in blood pressure; thus, there was a close correlation between subjective evaluation and physiological responses. It was therefore concluded that contact with wood, unlike artificial materials such as aluminum, induces no physiological stress even when kept at room temperature or cooled. © 2007 The Japan Wood Research Society.